‘Upkeep only enough for 2% of roads’

A number of Cork councillors have expressed outrage at the “shocking” state of roads in the county.

According to the latest figures, Cork county currently receives just over €6,000 of government funding per kilometre of road making it the third lowest local authority in the nation for road maintenance funding. Kildare is top of the list getting over €11,000 per kilometre of road.

At Monday’s meeting of Cork County Council, a motion was brought forward by West Cork Fianna Fáil Cllr Joe Carroll calling for increased funding from Central Government for roads maintenance. The motion also called on Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD, to provide an update on his department’s commitment to the independent AIRO report published in 2021. The report, which was carried out by the All Island Research Observatory (AIRO) in Maynooth University, suggested that county Cork’s size and population, in comparison to other local authorities, was not being factored into the allocation of Central Government funding schemes. Initially, the then Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he “didn’t buy” the report and claimed that “people could commission reports to get the outcome they want”.

However, following heavy criticism for his remarks, Mr Martin acknowledged the report.

Speaking at County Hall on Monday, Cllr Joe Carroll said: “It has been made very clear to us by the engineers in West Cork that the amount of money they get for road maintenance and road upkeep is only enough for 2% of the roads they have. We want more money for the roads in West Cork. We just can’t put up with it any longer.”

Independent West Cork Cllr Karen Coakley said: “The streets of Skibbereen are in an absolutely shocking state. I wonder where the money from our motor tax and fuel excise duty is going. Cork is the largest county in Ireland, and I believe we should look at keeping motor tax in our own county to do our roads. The engineers are doing great work with very little money.”

Fine Gael Cllr Michael Hegarty said roads in south Cork are suffering too and roads across the county are being maintained now at 50-year intervals due to lack of funding available to engineers.

“The AIRO report was very detailed. I think the points that were made have to be addressed ASAP,” he said.